


A Broken Ship can be Fixed

by Dark_Strange_Son_3145



Series: Demons: The Aftermath of Death [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Angels, Blood and Violence, Demons, Gun Violence, Humans, Other, cursing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:00:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27427588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark_Strange_Son_3145/pseuds/Dark_Strange_Son_3145
Summary: A captain of a ship falls in love with a bar singer. They both start to grow close and get married. Though the captain has to go back out onto sea. When the ship crashes and the wife is told that there are no survivors, she is unable to deal with being alone. So as she slowly starts to feel like there is nothing left for her, a demon finally finds their way back home...
Relationships: Original Character(s)/Original Character(s)
Series: Demons: The Aftermath of Death [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2025293





	1. Stories

“Once there was a captain that sailed the seven seas with their old pirate crew. They were stern and never fooled around, except when they drink. They always smelled like booze and never knew when to quit. Then one day, they went into a new bar and tried the rum. They _hated_ it. It tasted like apple juice! Though they still went in every day. Why did they go in every day? It definitely wasn’t because of the beer, I’ll tell you that. No, it was the beautiful girl that sang at that bar every day. If she wasn’t there, then they would’ve burned down that nasty bar! But since she worked there, they didn’t want to let the place go down. The captain did everything they could to keep the place running. They didn’t want the lady they fell in love with to go jobless.” “So they did love her!” One of the orphans shouted, interrupting Zelene as she told the story. Zelene laughed a bit. It wasn’t a mean laugh, but one of a mother who enjoys seeing her children happy. Though Zelene never got the chance to become a mother. “Yes, they did, Sasha.” Zelene gave the child a warm smile as she continued to tell the story. “One day, the bar singer noticed the captain helping out around the old bar. But why would they help? She knew the pirate hated the rum they had since it wasn’t strong enough, so why would they try to keep it running? She decided to talk to the captain and ask them the reason for their kindness. “Do you like the bar?” She asked the captain. They turned around and looked at her. The captain was much taller than her, which frightened her. Though she didn’t show any sign of fear. Instead, she stood straight and stayed where she was. “Of course not, the rum here is terrible.” They said in a Scottish accent. “Then why do you help keep it running?” She stared the captain dead in the eyes, and for once someone stronger, braver, and much taller was scared of her. Why would they be scared? She didn’t threaten them, and even if she did then why would that scare them? Wouldn’t that make them angry? “I just like the workers too much to let them go jobless…” They were lying straight through their teeth. But what was the truth? What did they have to hide? “Liar.” She said as anger grew onto her face, though she left before another word could be spoken.” “So does she not like them back?” Another kid asked. Zelene smiled before answering. “Well, I never said that. Though I guess I also never said that she did. Guess we all have to see what happens next!” They all scooted in closer to be able to hear her better. ‘Wow, I guess they really like this story. Maybe I shouldn’t tell them how it ends…’ She thought before continuing. “Soon the singer got promoted to a waitress! She was able to serve everyone drinks AND sing! Well, that included that lying pirate. She hated serving them drinks! They would always ask for a new one every five minutes! It was like they would just chug it and be done. It was so annoying!!” She couldn’t believe herself when that happened. Now she would just laugh about it. “One night, they didn’t come in. She didn’t know why, but she was worried. Did something happen to them? Maybe they got tired of coming here and decided to go to that pub across town. She should’ve been relieved that they were gone, but instead she couldn’t help but feel worried if something happened to them. But that shouldn’t stop her from doing her job. She went to serve a bunch of drunk gamblers a bit more beer like they had asked, but instead they wanted her. They grabbed her and tried to kiss her. How rude! And have they ever heard of dental hygiene?! Their breath smelled disgusting! But that didn’t matter, right now she needed to get away from these creeps. But how? “The captain was now late because some of his crew decided to slack off. They had to take away their rum and they also might have drank a bit of it… Though that wasn’t the point! They needed to make sure the bar didn’t close early tonight like all the other ones have. But what if their lady didn’t work today? Maybe they could just miss one night… No! They needed to at least check if she was there! Though when they got there, they only saw their lady getting kissed by some drunk retard. They began to walk up to them and pulled out their gun. “Hey lads, ye know that ye shouldn’t touch a pirates treasure, right?” They said as they pointed the gun towards the man kissing their lady. “What’re you talking ‘bout you-” The man’s eyes widened as he saw the gun that was pointing directly at him. The man let go of the lady as she ran behind the captain. She was terrified and angry. How dare he touch her! “Now I suggest ye leave so there won’t be a mess to clean up.” The men left and now it was only her and the captain. “Um, thank you for saving me.” She said as she backed away from them. “No problem lass, its not like I was just gonna leave ye there to get pawed at.” They said as they put their gun away. From that day on, the two of them grew closer together. So much that they got married.” She smiled as her thumb went to her wedding ring. “... Then they lived happily ever after…” The children thanked her for the story before she left for her home. Wow, she was no better at lying than them. It was so quiet. “Honey, I’m home.” She said as her hand slid across a picture of her and her spouse on their wedding day. “I hope you come home too.”


	2. Alone

She hoped that those children couldn’t tell that she was lying. They never lived happily ever after. That wasn’t some made up story. That was her LIFE. She was a widow that only had one joy, which was telling children stories. Why did she tell that one? Why did she even bother trying to make it look like she was reading it out of a book? She shouldn’t have brought that notebook with her. She shouldn’t have told the children a false ending. She should’ve told them that the captain died. That they were going to have children of their own together. That if only they didn’t go on that shitty trip, they wouldn’t have-!

“...Dammit, this loneliness really is getting to me…” She stumbled to the bathroom and turned on the shower. Why does she do this to herself? It wasn’t their fault that there was a storm. And it wasn’t her fault either. Yet she still blames both. She needed to get out and do other things. Maybe she could go work at the bar again? They are still open, so it wouldn’t hurt to try… No, it would. Every time she sees that place, she thinks of them. She had to lock their room so that way she didn’t have another breakdown.

“You said you’d be back. You said you’d be fine, you said that-that-!” Another breakdown. That’s the third time this week. 

_ “Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know it.” _

_ “B-But… What if something happens? What if you get hurt, or if there’s a storm you could-” _

_ “Hey. Don’t think like that. If you do then I might start thinking like that too. Then neither of us will ever get anything done, right?” _

_ “...Yeah, sorry it’s just… I can’t help but worry… The last time I even came close to worrying this much was when you were late at the bar.” _

_ “Yeah, I remember. The time I had to save your sorry ass from that weirdo.” _

_ “I could’ve gotten away without your help!!” _

_ “Whatever you want to think, just know that I’ll always be there for you.” _

“Liar.”


	3. Dead

“It’s hot. I hate it here.” Axe grumbled. “What’d I even do to come down ’ere?”

“You’ve killed multiple people with your gun and sword. You’ve stolen many priceless gems. You’ve killed your own crew-” Ben sighed. “Why wouldn’t you be here?” Axe sighed and walked over to grab their gun, but stopped when they saw something.

“What’s that?” They asked as they pointed towards a large red door. Above it was a small sign saying “EXIT”.

“Uh…. I don’t know actually. Probably the exit for this shitty place.” He shrugged. 

“Then I guess I’m leavin’.” They opened the door and looked around. They were on a beach that had a bunch of scraps of wood on it. They walked along the shoreline and to a group of sleeping people. As they got closer though, they realized that they weren’t sleeping.

“Huh, I wonder how they died.” They then saw a wrecked ship. “Oh, that’s how.” They looked at someone that looked exactly like them, except dead. Wait, they were them. That was their body.

They crouched down and used two fingers to close their eyes. Damn, they died in a shipwreck. How could they forget that? It was the most terrifying moment of their life. But something was missing. Didn’t they have a ring on their left ring finger? What did that usually mean? Oh yeah, it meant that you were married to someone. Wait…

“I WAS MARRIED!?” They stood up and looked around. There. A small cabin not too far from here. They ran to it and kicked down the door. Inside lived an old man who was currently drinking tea.

“If you are here to ask me if any of the bodies have moved, then no they haven’t-”

“Where did that ship come from!?” The old man turned his head to see Axe.

“Ah, so one of them did move.” He took another sip of his tea. “What a surprise.”

“Tell me where the hell that ship came from or I’ll burn this entire cabin after ripping off every limb on that old body of yours.” They threatened.

“There is no need for any violence, and I never said I wouldn’t tell you. Tea?” The man began to boil a kettle of water.

“No, I just want to know where that boat came from.” Axe said in a monotone voice.

“Of course. It came from that old town called Smithville.”

“And where are we now?”

“Shipwreck Island.”

“Alright, bye.” They left and made their way to Smithville.


	4. Always

Axe wandered around the island till they found a boat. Though they may or may not have killed some people to get it. Either way, they made it to Smithville.

“Finally.” They sighed as they got off of the boat. They began to walk towards the entrance of the old town, until something stopped them. “What in hell-”

“You can not pass into this town.” They whipped around to see a half demon, half angel.

“And why the hell not?” They growled. They made their gun appear in their hand as they drew closer.

“Because if you do you’ll remember everything that happened.” 

“And why can’t I remember me past?”

“I don’t know. I’m just supposed to stop you from passing.” They shrugged. 

“So... if I pass yer gonna try ta kill me?”

“Nah.”

“Really? Why?”

“Too tired.”

“... Alright, bye.”

“Bye.” They passed through and suddenly all of their memories flooded their head. Zelene. Where was Zelene? They needed to find her.

“Zelene!” They called, but no one seemed to notice. “Zelene! I’m ‘ere! I made it back!... Well, sort of….” They continued to call, but no one answered. Then, after calling for like a million times, they saw her. She seemed different though.

They ran up to her and grabbed her shoulder. 

“What the-!” Her bright blue, beautiful eyes glistened as she stared at them. Was this real? No, they died. They weren’t alive anymore. It was just another thing to haunt her. A ghost.

“Zelene! Fuckin’ finally! Didn’t ye ‘ear me callin’ yer name?” They asked. Though the only response they got was a cold stare before she turned and left. “Hey! Where ‘re ye going?” They followed her to her house, but she slammed the door shut before they could get in. Why did she shut them out? Did she not miss them? They opened the door and walked in.

“Geez, you’re really gonna lock out yer own spouse? How rude. And ‘ere I thought that ye would miss me.” They sighed. Then their eyes wandered over to a ring that was sitting next to a wedding picture. They picked up both the picture and ring. “That was the happiest day of me life, even though my life was short lived-”

“Put that down, it doesn’t belong to you.” She was now glaring at them.

“Wh- Ye, it does! I owned this before I died!”

“No,  _ They  _ owned that. It doesn’t belong to a weird ghost like you.”  _ Ghost? Wait, she _ actually _ thinks I’m a ghost? _ They thought.

“I’m not a ghost! I’m a-” They stopped themself. She was always a bit christian, so telling her that her own spouse was a demon would just make her hate them more.

“You’re a what?” She gave them a cold stare that only showed rage and hatred. They’ve never seen her this angry.

“It doesn’t matter, ye were always entitled to yer opinion anyway.” They spat. Why did they say that? That wasn’t what they wanted to say! That was just a terrible thought that they would have when the two of them got into fights. So why did they say the one negative thing over all the positive things?

“You know, maybe you are them. You both are so rude and idiotic!-” She snatched the ring away from them. “But you’re not real, so I guess I’m just talking to myself....” With that, she left the room. 

They could hear her sobbing in the bathroom after a few minutes, and decided to listen through the door.

“Why couldn’t  **_you_ ** come back, and not some figment of my imagination? Why do I have a ghost to haunt me of your memory? Why did you leave!?” They heard her shout. “...It’s been two years and I still haven’t gotten over it, have I? I bet you're having one hell of a time.” They were a bit shocked when they heard her cuss. She hated cussing and would scold them when they did it.

“ _ ‘I’ll always be there for you.’ _ You say. If so, then where are you?” She said softly.

“I’m right outside the damn door, but I can’t help if ye keep it locked.”

“Darn, I thought you left.”


	5. "Friends"

“....Then they lived happily ever after!” Zelene closed the book and picked up her bag. The children thanked her for the story and she left.

“How come all of the stories end with “They lived happily ever after”?” Axe asked. 

“Because if the stories end with one of the main characters dying, then the children might cry.” Zelene explained. 

“Why? And so what if they cry? They need to learn that the world isn’t all lollipops and rainbows.” Zelene gave them a disgusted glare.

“Seriously!? They’re only kids! Well, at least I know that you really aren’t Axe, because they actually wanted children.” She slammed the door on their face. Axe rubbed their nose and tried to open the door.

“Damnit, woman! Let me in or else-”

“Or else what? You’ll yell at me?” Now she was starting to piss them off. When they got here they expected a nice, warm, loving hug, not a cold, aggravating wife that would slam doors on their face. To any other stranger, they would’ve kicked this door down and killed them. But this was their wife, they couldn’t hurt her!

“Tsk, fine. I’ll just wait outside.”

It had been four hours, and she still hasn’t opened the door. Then it struck them, why not tell her they were a demon? Then she might decide to actually do that weird saying: ‘Face your inner demons’. They were sort of like her inner demon, right? Yeah, they were! But she could also get some holy water and kill them, that wouldn’t be fun…

It got dark, so maybe she was asleep. They stood up and went to an old bar.

“God! The beer ‘ere sucks!” A drunk civilian shouted.

“Ah! Shut yer trap! My head’s killin’ me!” Another drunk smacked him on the back of his head.

“Oi! Watch it! I’m tryin’ to get mah beer!” God, did they really get drunk off this weak beer?

“Hey, ye remember when that ship crashed on Shipwreck Island?” This caught their attention.

“Oh ye, that one with the shitty capin’, right?” Shitty? They wouldn’t call themselves shitty, maybe it was a different ship-

“Yeah! What was their name? Axe, right?”

“Yeah, I think so. Thank the heavens that they died, can’t wait for that bitch they called a wife to drop too.” Those two drunk bastards could talk about them all they wanted to, but when it came to their wife- That’s where they drew the line. They grabbed the two’s shoulders and stared at them with complete hatred.

“What. Did ye say. ‘Bout my. W i f e . . ?” They growled. The two men stared at them with pure fear.

“H-Holy shit… Y-Yer alive..?”

“Oh fuck!! We’re dead!” Axe took out two guns and blew both of their brains out. Everyone in the bar was just looking in shock as they saw the two fall down on the floor.

“What do ye reckon happened to them?” A man asked his friend, who both were sober.

“Probably passed out from too much beer.” One of the waitresses said.

“Oh my God!!” The other waitresses screamed.

“What is it?”

“He-He’s dead!!” Now everyone was panicking. People were running out of the bar so they weren’t blamed for drugging them, while others got the police.

“Psh, what a buncha pussies.” They took a beer and began to chug it, right before spitting most of it out. “Fuck, still tastes like shit...”


	6. Killer

“Oh God…” Zelene was currently holding the daily newspaper.

“What?” Axe was  _ finally _ let in when Zelene woke up.

“Apparently some men were shot and killed, but no one that went there had any firearms. Do you think there’s a murderer running around and killing people?” She was terrified. “What if they come for us!?”

“Well first of all, I doubt they would come after you. Second of all, how’re they supposed to kill me? Apparently I’m a ghost, remember?” They grinned. “Unless ye finally realize that I’m actually-”

“No, you’re not-” She held up her finger to stop them from finishing. “Plus, you barely even look like them. They had a hat, long hair, a jacket, and they were usually smiling.” Axe looked away from her. If only she knew what happened.

“Death does things to you…”

“Sure it does.” She rolled her eyes and put the newspaper down. “Now what book should I read to the children next week?”

“Hm…” Axe looked at the children books, but none of them were interesting. Then an idea struck them. “Oh! Have ye told them about when we first met?”

“When  _ Axe _ and I first met,” They rolled their eyes at her correction. “And yes, I have.”

“What about my perspective of the story? Or, as ye would say,  _ theirs. _ ” Her eyes widened a bit, then they went back to their normal size.

“I have no idea what happened and you don’t even know the main part of the story. Also, you can’t tell the story since I’m the only one who can see you-”

“Then I’ll tell ye the story and ye’ll repeat after me!” They were now smiling as if they solved world hunger. Why were they so happy? Either way, it was a good idea. And it would be interesting if they could come up with a decent story.

“Fine.” After that, they began to talk and talk. It was nice for her to have some company.


	7. Pretend

“They might tell that I’m listening to someone else!” Zelene said worriedly.

“It’ll be fine, also stop talking to me in public. People are gonna think ye’re crazy.” Axe scolded.

“They already know I’m crazy, and so do I since I’m basically talking to an imaginary person.” She tensed up as she gripped her notebook.

“Say, why do ye carry around that ol’ notebook?”

“So that way, when I tell the children stories that I didn’t read from a book, they won’t think I made it up.”

“Why? So what if ye made the damn-”

“Language.”

“... Damn story up? It doesn’t matter since they’re just kids!” They loved teasing her with cuss words when they were alive, it was so much fun.

“I really hated it when you would cuss-”

“What?” Her eyes widened as she realized what she just said. Was she really giving in to this hallucination? 

“Um… I said that I, uh, don’t really like it when people cuss…”

“Uh huh, suure.” They rolled their eyes as they entered the library. “So… You just walk in and greet the kids?” She didn’t reply as the teacher showed her where the kids were.

“Uh, hello? I’m sorta talking to ye.” Still no answer. “Hey! Don’t fu-” They stopped as she sat down with a calm smile in front of the children. She wrote something small down in her notebook and slightly gestured towards it. It read:

“I will write down an ‘X’ so you know when to start.”

“Huh, alright.” They shrugged. She told the children that she would be reading a story called ‘The Lonely Pirate’. “Wait a sec! I’m not lonely!” She wrote down a small smiley face on her paper. They let out a small chuckle, and sat indian style next to her. She wrote down the ‘X’ and waited for them to begin.

“Once there was a small pirate.” They began while Zelene repeated. “He was a very kind boy and his mother was a lovely woman. Sadly, his mother passed away from a terrible sickness. His father blamed him for his death, saying she worked too hard to provide for him. His father then began to… Punish him for it everyday. So the boy decided to become a woman. Yes, it was an odd way to solve his, or now her, problems, but it was the only solution they could think of. Unfortunately, that only caused their father to punish them more. So they… ran away! Yeah… and they decided that they didn’t need a gender, so they weren’t a girl and they also weren’t a boy! They felt free and that they could do whatever they pleased. And so they did. After time, they became a captain of a ship, they got a crew like no other, and they were incredibly handsome~”

“Ms Zelene?” One of the children asked, gaining the attention of the two. “Is this the same captain that the lady in the bar fell in love with?”

“Oh! U-Um…” Zelene looked a bit nervous, unsure of what to say. “Y-You’ll have to listen to the rest of the story to find out.”

“Hmm, or ye can just tell them that it is me.” Axe smiled, which was easily ignored with a simple side look. “Alright, fine. Have it yer way.” They cleared their throat before continuing their story. “They thought they had everything any man or woman could desire, but something felt off. They felt… lonely… So they went to the first town they saw and got some rum. Though when they drank the rum from the bar, it tasted horrible! Like it was just apple juice! They were about to just leave and go to a better bar, but stopped when they heard someone go onto the stage. “Now introducing The Mermaid!” One of the workers announced. Then a beautiful woman came onto the stage and they couldn’t stop looking at her. Her deep blue eyes shimmered in the lights, her light pale skin looked as though it was glowing, and her voice… Once she started singing that first word, it felt like a siren was luring an unknowing ship to the rocks; it was beautiful but had hidden desires. They liked her-no, they loved her. They wanted to talk to her, to know her, to make her happy. And so, after heroically saving her from a terrible drunk man, they got to know each other. They talked, they dated, and soon enough, they got married… Then the captain had to go on a trip. Their wife was angry, sad, and scared of what might happen to her spouse, but the captain reassured her that they would be back…. That they would always be there for her…

“But they never came back, they died in a storm after throwing most of their crew overboard… When they died… they felt terrible… they wanted nothing more than to see their lass one last time…” Axe finished with sorrow, though that was the one part that Zelene didn’t say to the children.

“... Um… and so they did! They made it back home to their wife and they both lived happily ever after! The end!” Zelene said nervously, but covered up her nervousness with a bright smile. 

“Wh- That’s not what happened! Why are ye pretending that everything ends with hugs and kisses?!” Axe shouted, but was ignored as the children thanked her. She left the library and went towards her home. “Ye do realize that’s our life ye just told those brats. And ye just changed it to make ‘em happy! Why? Why!?”

“Because they are just children-” Zelene tried to say, but was cut off.

“So what if they’re just children!? I saw people get killed when I was a child! I saw me own mother grow weak and die! Ye think my father cared that I was only 10 when he gave me this scar?! Or this one? Or even this one!!?? They need to learn that not everything is all happy! Do ye see what happened to you? What happened to me-”

“JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!!” Zelene shouted as tears pricked the corners of her eyes. “Stop pretending that you’re Axe! Stop pretending that you’re real! Stop haunting me with their death! Just! Just stop!!”

“I… Zelene…. Okay, I may have gone a bit overboard with that, but…. Look, I… I’m sorry, okay? But I really am Axe! I… I can try and change me hair! I can get a hat and a coat… I can even smile more for ye! Please… How can I get ye to understand that I am real? How can I get ye to understand that  _ I AM Axe!?” _ Axe pleaded, but was met with silence.

“... Just leave… please…” Zelene begged as a few stray tears fell down her pale cheeks. “Everytime you’re around I just feel… more sad… So please… Leave me alone…”

“But… A-Alright… Just, please, stay safe… And… call for me if ye need me…” Axe began to walk away from her, but right before leaving completely, they said one last thing: “... I love you…”

Those three words were the last thing Zelene needed to completely make her heart shatter. She opened her mouth and turned around to call them back, but when she saw that there was no one there she closed her mouth. She 4let her tears fall, but showed no sign that she even knew she was crying. She didn’t wipe them away or try to hide them, she just stood there, silently letting the warm, salty tears freely flow down her cheeks. 


	8. Room

After a while the tears stopped and she went home. She locked the door, got ready for bed, and went to her room. She lied down on the soft blankets that rested on top of the large mattress, not even bothering to get under them. She tried to close her eyes to sleep, but it just never happened. So she got up and walked out of her room, but she didn’t walk any farther than the edge of her doorway. 

Zelene stared upon her worst enemy, the one thing that made her cry most, the one thing that she locked up years ago, the one thing that she swore to never open again… THEIR room. Her body moved on its own as she reached for the handle. Her other hand went to the small lock on the door and unlocked it. Her hand then twisted the door knob, revealing an empty room. 

All the furniture had a thick layer of dust on it. She never even looked in here ever since Axe had gone on that trip. She never saw how they left it, how clean or messy it was, she just looked at the closed door and locked it. She wasn’t able to get herself to even look in there. So when she saw that note on the bed, it didn’t exactly surprise that she never saw it. She slowly walked into the room and hesitantly picked up the note. She blew off the dust on it and carefully opened it, beginning to read what it said.

_ “Zelene, my love, I know that I told you that I would always be there for you, but in all honesty I don’t know if I will. I know that you wanted a child when I come back, but I might not come back from my trip. Just know that, even in the afterlife, I will find you. You know that I don’t really believe in all that christian stuff that you talk about, but if heaven and hell really do exist I’ll do anything to come back to you. _

_ While I can still write stuff here though, I should probably tell you something. I’m probably not going to heaven. I’ve done a lot of bad things over the years, and some holy water isn’t gonna fix it. I really am sorry that I’m telling you all this through a letter, that’s pretty rude of me now that I think about it. Anyway, I should probably finish this before it gets too long. I just want you to know, no matter what happens, I will always love you. Good bye, Zelene. _

_ Sincerely, from the depths of your spouses’ cold heart, _

_ Axe _

…

Was this… These were their last words… The last things they wanted to say to me… They knew I would never let them go if they said this… that’s why they wrote it on a letter… Axe…

Then the small tears brimmed her eyes, threatening to pour out. But she couldn’t cry, not right now at least. If that ghost really was Axe, then… Then she needed to know why! They somehow knew a lot about Axe themselves, so there’s a chance they might know something about this!

And so she ran. She ran out the door and into the cold, dark night. The cold wind brushed against her cheeks as she searched around the small town she lived in. She ran down to all the bars, calling out their name. She continued to do that until she reached one last bar; Their bar. The bar they first met each other at. She was about to walk in when someone grabbed her arm.

“Hey there, doll face~” A man wearing a mask chuckled darkly. Zelene’s eyes widened as she realized that this could be the murderer she saw in the newspaper.

“A-Axe!!Axe-” She screamed, but was cut off when the man threw her in an alleyway.

“No use screaming for help from the bar. Everyone in there is either too drunk or too tired to even get up from their seat.” The man laughed.

“W-What do you want from me? Money? Jewelry? Cause I don’t have either!” Zelene cried as she slowly stood up from the cold, dirty ground.

“Oh, I know. I simply thought I would be doing everyone a favor by getting rid of the crazy lady in the town.” He laughed again. “You do realize that everyone can hear you when you yell at the air? Or when you laugh at nothing? It was funny at first, but now it’s just sad. And no one likes seeing sad people.” He began to pull a gun out of his pocket as he slowly drew closer to her. This wasn’t going to end well...


	9. Demons

“I… P-Please! I’ve just found my spouse a-and I just had an argument with them… I still need to apologize to them! P-Please! Please… I-I’ll do anything…” Zelene pleaded.

“That’s hilarious. You do realize that your spouse died two years ago, right?” He asked. “They aren’t coming back. They’re DEAD, and soon you’ll join them-” Then he held up his gun and pointed it at her.

“Zelene?” The scottish accent echoed through the alley way, but Zelene paid no mind to it. She knew that the man was probably right, her spouse was dead and was never coming back. She was just making up excuses so she could possibly get out of this situation alive. Maybe she really was crazy. Maybe she should just give up and let this man pull the trigger…

But her spouse thought otherwise.

“Z-Zelene!?” Axe shouted, but their wife made no move to acknowledge their existence. “I know ye ‘ear me!... Zelene…?” When she once again didn’t move, they drew closer to her. “Zelene… get up, ye d-dumb arse… Please…?....... D-Do ye want me to apologize? Fine! I-I’m sorry! About everything!...”

“...How pathetic,” The masked man laughed, causing Axe to look up at him. “You’re not even going to try and fight? Not even a single beg? A plea for mercy? Or even trying to run??” She did nothing. What was the point? She was alone… Hopeless…. Sad… ‘Crazy’.... “Well, then I guess this is goodbye. Hope you have a nice trip, crazy lady-” There was a deafening bang as the bullet flew out of the gun.

Axe’s eyes turned into saucers as everything moved in slow motion. They whipped their head around towards their loved one. If she died, she would probably go to heaven. But she was still so young! They don’t want her to die! No… She WON’T die. 

They ran towards her as tears pricked the corners of their eyes. They reached their hand out to grab Zelene as the bullet already started coming closer to her. They grabbed her sweater and hugged her, just hugged her. They didn’t know what else to do. So they just hugged her. The bullet came and they felt it. They felt as it pierced through their already dead body. The pain was excruciating. Wait, it hurt? Does that mean…

“What in the… Is that…” The man’s eyes widened as he lowered his gun. Axe whipped with wide eyes as they stared at the man. He was looking right at them, causing a smile to erupt on their face.

“Ye can see me… can’t ye?” They asked as their smile grew longer and thinner. Zelene looked up as she saw some blood spilling out of her spouse’s look-alikes' back. They took the bullet? How? Weren’t they just just a hallucination?

“... Ye C A N…” They laughed a bit as a gun formed in their hand. “And ye know that ye almost KILLED me WIFE… WITH A GUN… How about I shoot you and see how you like a bullet going through yer head? Doesn’t that sound F U N ?” They raised their gun and aimed it at the man’s head, but stopped and shot it at his arm. The man screamed in pain as he dropped his gun and held his arm.

“No… that would be too QUICK. Yer sufferin’ would be over TOO SOON… NO… I’LL NEED TO SHOOT YOU UNTIL THERE’S NOTHING' LEFT-” Their voice began to distort, like something more evil was coming out of them… Their face began to shift into something more gruesome…. Their right eye rolled into their skull as blood poured out in its place, the skin around their jaw began to disintegrate as it started to dangle off of their face, and their body began to grow cuts and bruises all around it. But that wasn’t the worst part… The worst part was the piece of wood that still pierced through their chest.

“Oh… Oh God!! W-What are you!?” The man questioned as he tried to back away from them, but the flames that ignited behind him stopped him from moving and further.

“Yeah… Death does things to ye. See, if I was a good little, well, whatever the hell I am, I would’ve gone to heaven and hung out with all the angels. All these scars from the shipwreck would’ve been gone and I would’ve lived a happy afterlife, but that didn’t happen. Instead I went ta HELL. I KILLED people when I was alive. I stole, too. So ya see, lad, I’m a demon. And that means you just tried to kill a demon’s WIFE. Good luck explaining that to the devil-” And once they put their jaw back where it was supposed to be, they shot. The bullets continued to pierce through his skin until all that was left was a bag of meat that had already died before they could have their ‘fun’.

“A-Axe…?” A soft, scared voice asked, causing the smile to fall from their face as they realized who was still there. Their wife. She just witnessed the worst side of them for the very first time, and she also now knew that they were a demon. They slowly turned around and looked at Zelene with empty eyes, causing her to flinch as they made eye contact. “Y-You… You’re…”

They didn’t know what to say, so they just stayed silent as their features slowly turned back to normal. 

“... Why…?”


End file.
